Algebra

Algebra is a part of maths that deals with general statements of relations, using
letters and other symbols to represent unknown quantities.
A simple algebraic equation could be:
2x + 3 = 15
To find x we need to group all of the unknown quantities (x) on one side of the equation and
group the known quantities on the other side of the equation.
Step 1 To keep equality on both sides of the equation, what you do to one side you must do to the
other. In this example, we took away 3 from each side of the equals sign (+ 3 - 3 = 0).

2x + 3 - 3 = 15 - 3
2x = 12

Step 2 To find what x is we need to divide both sides by 2.

2x 2 = 12 2
x=6

Some other examples:

In this example, we need to group all of
1 3y + 7 = 16 the known quantities so that they are on
one side of the equation.
3y + 7 - 7 = 16 - 7
3y = 9 To find y we then divide both sides by 3.
y=3

With this equation we need to group all of

2 5x - 6 = 10 - 3x the unknown quantities (x) on one side of the
5x + 3x - 6 = 10 - 3x + 3x equation and group the known quantities on
8x - 6 + 6 = 10 + 6 the other side of the equation.
8x = 16 So
x=2 To find 1x, divide both sides by 8.

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